DOE to Enforce Updated ASHRAE Energy Standard

In a recent ruling, the U.S. Department of Energy decided to mandate that state energy codes meet the requirements of the Association of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers’ 1999 energy conservation standard.

By Consulting Specifying Engineer Staff

08/19/2002

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In a recent ruling, the U.S. Department of Energy decided to mandate that state energy codes meet the requirements of the Association of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers’ 1999 energy conservation standard.

According to DOE’s analysis, with the updated standard, new building efficiency should improve by about 6%.

DOE’s ruling, under the federal Energy Conservation and Production Act, requires all states to certify that either Standard 90.1-1999 is in place, or an energy code at least as stringent. The ruling also allows states to justify if and why they are unable to comply at the time.